FTPD — Standalone FTP Server for MVS 3.8j

A full-featured FTP server for MVS 3.8j, built from the ground up with crent370. Supports native MVS datasets, JES2 job management, and UFS files via UFSD — with seamless switching between all three in a single session.

Features

MVS Dataset Access

• Browse, upload, download, delete, rename datasets
• PDS member listing with ISPF statistics
• Binary roundtrip verified (MD5 match)
• Text transfers with full CP037 special character support ([]{}|$@#)
• Auto-allocation of new datasets via SITE parameters
• Catalog-based listing (no VTOC startup scan, instant startup)
• Wildcard filtering: *.LOAD, **.DATA, R* (member filter)

JES2 Interface (SITE FILETYPE=JES)

• Job submission via internal reader
• Automatic USER/PASSWORD/NOTIFY injection into JOB card
• Job status query with z/OS-compatible listing format
• Spool retrieval (all DDs or specific spool file)
• Job purge

UFS Filesystem (CWD /path)

• Full Unix-style file and directory operations via UFSD
• Hybrid navigation: switch between MVS and UFS in one session
• Soft dependency: works without UFSD (MVS + JES still available)

Security

• RAKF authentication (userid/password)
• FACILITY class FTPAUTH for FTP access control
• Per-operation DATASET class authorization (READ/UPDATE/ALTER)
• ACEE switching: dataset I/O runs under logged-in user's identity
• STC runs as FTPD/USER via RACINIT (Principle of Least Privilege)
• See doc/FTPD_RAKF_SETUP.md for setup instructions

Client Compatibility

• Verified identical behavior to z/OS 3.1 FTP server
• Tested with: FileZilla, ncftp, tnftp, curl, IBM PCOMM, Zowe CLI
• See doc/COMPAT.md for details

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• MVS 3.8j with crent370 runtime
• RAKF configured
• mbt build tool
• Optional: UFSD for UFS file access

libc370 sysroot: d44cfea (2026-08-06) or later. That commit removed the ASXB ENQ from racf_login()/racf_logout(); FTPD's ABEND recovery dropped the defensive DEQ that used to release it after an ABEND, so building against an older sysroot leaves an orphaned address-space-wide ENQ stalling every session's login until that worker's next command. libc370 has no tags — the requirement is a commit, not a version.

Build

git clone https://github.com/mvslovers/ftpd.git
cd ftpd
# configure .env file with your MVS host settings
vi .env
make bootstrap build link

Install

# Copy STC procedure and config to MVS
copy samplib/ftpd    to SYS2.PROCLIB
copy samplib/ftpdpm00 to SYS2.PARMLIB

RAKF Setup

1. Add user FTPD in group USER to SYS1.SECURE.CNTL(USERS)
2. Add FTPAUTH profile to SYS1.SECURE.CNTL(PROFILES)
3. Recycle RAKF: /S RAKF
4. See doc/FTPD_RAKF_SETUP.md for details

Start

/S FTPD

Connect

ftp mvshost 2121

Supported FTP Commands

Command	Description
USER/PASS	Authentication via RAKF
SYST	System type (215 MVS)
FEAT	Feature negotiation
CWD/CDUP/PWD	Directory navigation (MVS prefix + UFS paths)
LIST/NLST	Directory listing (z/OS MVS format / Unix format)
RETR	Download dataset, PDS member, or UFS file
STOR	Upload (auto-allocates new datasets)
APPE	Append to dataset
DELE	Delete dataset, PDS member, or UFS file
MKD/RMD	Create/remove PDS or UFS directory
RNFR/RNTO	Rename dataset or UFS file
SIZE	File/dataset size query
MDTM	Modification timestamp (UFS)
TYPE A/I/E	ASCII, binary, EBCDIC transfer modes
PORT/PASV	Active and passive data connections
EPSV	Extended passive mode (RFC 2428)
SITE	Allocation parameters, JES mode, toggles
STAT/NOOP/HELP	Session info, keepalive, help
QUIT	Disconnect

SITE Subcommands

Subcommand	Description
RECFM=fmt	Record format (FB, VB, F, V, U)
LRECL=n	Logical record length
BLKSIZE=n	Block size
PRIMARY=n	Primary space allocation
SECONDARY=n	Secondary space allocation
TRACKS / CYLINDERS	Space allocation unit
FILETYPE=JES / SEQ	Switch to JES or dataset mode
JESOWNER=name	JES job owner filter
JESJOBNAME=name	JES job name filter
JESSTATUS=status	JES job status filter (OUTPUT, ALL)
JESINTERFACELEVEL=n	JES interface level (1 or 2)
TRAILING	Toggle trailing blanks in text transfers

Architecture

Client ──► Control Connection (port 2121)
              │
              ├── ftpd#cmd.c  (command dispatcher)
              ├── ftpd#aut.c  (RAKF authentication)
              ├── ftpd#mvs.c  (MVS dataset operations)
              ├── ftpd#jes.c  (JES2 interface)
              ├── ftpd#ufs.c  (UFS operations via UFSD)
              ├── ftpd#lst.c  (LIST formatting)
              └── ftpd#sit.c  (SITE command handling)
              │
              ├── ftpd#dat.c  (data connections PORT/PASV/EPSV)
              └── ftpd#xlt.c  (EBCDIC/ASCII translation)

Dependencies

Dependency	Required	Purpose
crent370	Yes	C runtime, RAKF, JES2, socket layer
RAKF	Yes	Authentication and authorization
UFSD	No	UFS filesystem access (soft dependency)
mbt	Build	Build tool

License

See LICENSE.